Southern Pacific Brewing is the newest brewpub in San Francisco’s Mission District, situated in a renovated warehouse a stone’s throw off the the beaten path at 19th and Treat. After clearing a year’s worth of permitting hurdles and red tape, the first step that owners Anthony LaVia and Chris Lawrence took with Boor Bridges Architecture was to sift through the history of the site and draw inspiration for the project. The brewery’s name comes from the old Southern Pacific rail line that terminated near the site and inspired the space’s rustic boxcar-esque interior.

In addition to these historic roots the team found a “treasure trove of raw building materials” leftover from the time when the nearly 10,000 square foot space was owned and operated by C.A. Kilger Machine Works. They set to work putting these reclaimed materials to good use while replacing the warehouse’s grime-covered skylights and carving out a massive new glazed facade for the building’s entrance. The brewery’s expansive space, combined with the abundance of natural light filtering down from above, makes it feel like a daylit sanctuary – an impression strengthened by the two planted trees, which should have no problem thriving in the airy environment.

All photos by Mike Chino for Inhabitat

Southern Pacific Brewing will open with a selection of five beers brewed on-site by Andy French of (Speakeasy brewery fame), in addition to a full bar menu created by Chef Tyler Moorish. The bar itself features a tap made from an old metal I-beam that was reclaimed from the Mission’s Wigwam Theater, which opened in 1913 and was known by many different names (including Cine Latino, New Rialto Theatre, and Crown Theatre) before it closed in 1987. The backsplash (along with lots of other surfaces in the brewery) is made of salvaged wood reclaimed from an old barn on Lawrence’s parent’s property in Mendocino. These rough-hewn materials add a beautiful weathered element to the space that warms up the structure’s old industrial bones.

The brewery will offer standing occupancy for 300 people and 100 indoor seats – many of which were custom-built by neighboring studio Ohio Design using douglas fir reclaimed from the machine shop’s old mezzanine. An old church pew salvaged from the Dolores Park ‘castle’ church rounds out the seating options, while reclaimed vintage sinks in the bathroom keep material use to a minimum. If you live in San Francisco then don’t miss the grand debut of Southern Pacific Brewing tonight at 7pm – I’ll see you there!

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msyinJanuary 28, 2012 at 10:14 am

I would definitely visit a place like this if were in San Fransisco. I will add it to my places to visit due to the great use of reclaimed, salvaged and redesigned use of an space that had so much history in the area. Great project.